Mumbai International Airport to get full body scanners for improved security measures

The Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) in Mumbai is set to get a major overhaul of its security infrastructure thanks to the proposed inclusion of full body scanners. This comes as authorities apprehended a large number of illegal smugglers of gold and drugs in 2019 using handheld machines. These machines, while effective, can take a lot of time as passengers pile up. 

Keeping this in mind, the decision to implement full body scanners at CSMIA makes a great deal of sense. These scanners will be based on millimetre wave and non-ionizing electromagnetic radiation technology.

In addition to drugs and gold, this full body scanner will also allow the authorities to scan for non-metallic as well as plastic materials including chemical, biological and radiation tools of terrorism. Beyond these security measures, the CSMIA will also get improved trolley management systems as well as advanced tray retrieval mechanisms for efficient functioning.

An airport official who chose to remain anonymous said: “The full body scanners will quickly scan the passenger, eliminating the need for personal checking. Usually, it takes at least three minutes for an airport personnel to frisk a passenger. With these machines, the time taken for such checking could be cut down drastically.”

It is said that the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) will conduct trials at the airport to ascertain if it’s in compliance with the guidelines of the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS)

A senior CISF official said “It is observed that the walk-through metal detectors and hand-held metal detectors cannot detect non-metallic explosives. Moreover, these body scanners will save time, as passengers will simply walk through the scanner after removing thick clothing, belts, jackets and shoes, which will be scanned by the current x-ray machines.”